UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 20 grant awards representing more than $1.5 million in new funding during the month of June. Highlights included:
UNMC bone marrow transplant program begins collaboration with KUMC
Julie Vose, M.D., internal medicine – oncology/hematology, received more than $500,000 in combined support from multiple funded projects. Dr. Vose is the UNMC lead on an industry-sponsored phase 1b/2 clinical study involving the use of combined therapies to treat B-cell malignancies.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Dr. Vose a U10 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop the Nebraska/Kansas Blood and Marrow Transplant Research Network to streamline the process of collaboration on a number of clinical trials between UNMC and the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Dr. Vose also received support from the National Marrow Donor Program for a study that continues the evaluation of patients who were involved in earlier clinical trials and received a novel treatment for leukemia or lymphoma.
Monocolonal antibodies used to treat uveitis and macular edema
Quan Dong Nguyen, M.D., ophthalmology and visual sciences, has received more than $200,000 in combined support for clinical studies. Dr. Nguyen is the UNMC lead for an industry-sponsored roll-over study that continues the dosing of a novel monoclonal antibody in patients that were previously involved in studies using this therapy to treat inflammation of the eye’s uvea. Dr. Nguyen also received support from Pennsylvania State University for his involvement in a clinical study that assessed the use of a novel treatment for macular edema.
Treating obesity in rural communities of Nebraska and Kansas
Cyrus Desouza, M.B.B.S., internal medicine – diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism, has received more than $100,000 in support from the University of Kansas Medical Center to develop the Midwestern Collaborative for Treating Obesity in Rural Primary Care. As DEM division chief, Dr. Desouza also received salary support for his division from the Nebraska Educational Biomedical Research Association.
Roles of enzymes and transcription factors in acute myeloid leukemia
Ricia (Kate) Hyde, Ph.D., biochemistry & molecular biology, has received more than $100,000 in support from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for two separate studies that will attempt to uncover the role of histone deacylases in a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia and the role of transcription factors in leukemia stem cells.
Radiographic analysis of tumor necrosis inhibitor therapy recipients
Alan Erickson, M.D., internal medicine – rheumatology, has received more than $100,000 in support from the Western Institute for Biomedical Research for a study that will analyze hand radiographs of U.S. veterans who have received tumor necrosis inhibitor therapy.
Industry-sponsored grants:
The following industry-sponsored contracts and foundation grants also were received. Information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC can be found here.
Yunlong Huang, Ph.D., pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, has received a National Institutes of Health R03 award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a study that will use a small molecule (TIC10) to target and activate a transcription factor (FOXO3a) in hopes of eradicating reservoirs of HIV-1 in the central nervous system.
Babu Padanilam, Ph.D., cellular & integrative physiology, has received support from the Midwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association for a study on p53-mediated tubular necrosis in ischemic renal injury.
Daniel Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., internal medicine – cardiology, is the UNMC lead on a Phase IV clinical trial to characterize the post-procedure effectiveness of an antibiotic envelope, surrounding a cardiovascular implantable electronic device, in reducing infection.
Heeseong Jang, Ph.D., cellular & integrative physiology, has received post-doctoral fellowship support from the Midwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association for a study titled "Norepinephrine-CREB-Angiotensinogen Axis as Therapeutic Target in Renal Fibrosis."
Myron Toews, Ph.D., pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, has received support from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for a study of estrogen regulation of glutaminase in LAM lung disease, which causes abnormal muscle growth in the lining of the lung’s airways and blood vessels.
Panagiotis Koutakis, Ph.D., surgery – general surgery, has received post-doctoral fellowship support from the Midwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association for a study using supervised exercise to reduce muscle loss and improve limb function in patients with peripheral artery disease.
Cheng Wang, Ph.D., obstetrics/gynecology, has received support from the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research for studies of ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma and the role played by the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway.
Shamma Rahman, a Ph.D. student in cellular & integrative physiology, has received an American Heart Association predoctoral fellowship for a study using EHD4 knockout mice to understand the role of EDH4-dependent endocytic recycling of sodium transporters and water channels in renal homeostasis regulation.
Vikas Gulati, M.D., ophthalmology and visual sciences, has received support from the University of Nebraska at Omaha for a study of patients with low vision, age-related macular degeneration in hopes of improving sight and distortion repair.